


Fool's Mate

by Poppelganger



Category: OFF (Game)
Genre: Angst, Canon-Typical Violence, F/M, I'm Sorry, Other, Reader-Insert, Spoilers, Unrequited Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-13
Updated: 2014-01-13
Packaged: 2018-01-08 14:43:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 409
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1133861
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Poppelganger/pseuds/Poppelganger
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>She was talking to you.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Fool's Mate

She was talking to you.

It's not something you noticed right away, because you were not the one holding the bat, not the one in front of her, not the one beating her.  But you were fighting her, even if it was not you striking, it was you who ordered every blow.  She had no face, and yet you felt her eyes boring holes into your body.  When the Batter brought his weapon down over her head, she caught it with one hand, but something inside of her audibly cracked like glass.  You remember her turning slightly, curtain of white hair shifting around her body, and whispering like the hissing of a snake filtered through water backwards,

_"You have been wrong from the beginning."_

"Player?"

The Batter looks at you from beneath his hat, only two of the four eyes open, but you can't bring yourself to meet his gaze, not when you know the truth.  The Queen has told you, and now you will never look at him the same way again.  "I'm fine," you lie.  The Batter does not believe you.

_"He loves you not."_

And how could he?  He is the Batter, the purifier, the Messiah on a holy mission.  If he could not love his wife or his world or even his Father, how could he love you, his puppeteer?  You feel like a fool.  This was a mistake, and you knew it, and yet you continued, you went on killing everything and everyone thinking that maybe, eventually, the corners of his lips would turn up in a smile.

They never did.

_"You don't even know his first name."_

You look up at last.  The Batter is startled, but recovers quickly.  "Player?" he asks again.  The Judge waits on the other side of you, patient, not saying a word, because he knows what you know, what the Queen has always known.

"I wish I would have known sooner."  The Judge weaves between your legs and you bend down to scratch behind his ear.  "I wish I'd never come here."

"Player," the Batter says desperately, but he knows you've made your choice.  You step away from him while the Judge comes between you.  Your puppet is gone; there is a monster in his place, hissing smoke and reaching for you with his claws.  You're not sure what kind of ending you were expecting after everything you've done, but you know this isn't the one you wanted.

**Author's Note:**

> I have trouble seeing the fight against Vader Eloha as anything other than a vicious argument between parents from the perspective of a young child, but I wanted to play with this idea a little and indulge all the Batter fans. (And by "indulge," I guess I meant rip your hearts out? I'm sorry.)


End file.
